Amarikwa is not expected to play the entire game Saturday, but his presence should give San Jose an emotional lift against Dallas (8-4-2), which is riding a three-game win streak.

“He’s trained hard and put himself in a good position,” coach Dominic Kinnear said.

The question is how Amarikwa will mesh with forward Chad Barrett considering they have never played together. The pairing looked good during a practice Thursday, even after Barrett went down for a few scary moments after a minor collision.

Amarikwa and teammates say it doesn’t matter who plays this year because they’re all in it together.

“With this group, if we don’t make the playoffs it is an underperformance” because “of the caliber of players we have, that’s for sure,” Amarikwa said.

It’s a bold challenge for the rest of the Earthquakes. But Amarikwa’s confidence increased while watching from the sideline as teammates performed well in his absence. The former UC Davis star was not through with proclamations, saying opponents overlooked the Quakes at the start of the season.

“Early on they were thinking our results were kind of flukish,” Amarikwa said. “But as time has been going on, we’re finding points,” no matter who makes the lineup. “We haven’t won on the road, but if you’re winning at home and getting points on the road, that’s a recipe for the playoffs.”

However, now San Jose is being tested to its limit with potential starters Clarence Goodson (back), Innocent (knee) and Marc Pelosi (knee) out for extended periods at a time they could help fill an empty roster. Kinnear’s options are limited for FC Dallas and June 1 at Portland, with five players on national team duty.

FC Dallas also has lineup issues as Maynor Figueroa was with the Honduran team that played Friday night at Argentina. Star defensive midfielder Carlos Gruezo was injured playing for Ecuador this week, leading scorer Michael Barrios is out with a knee sprain and forward Maxi Urruti is questionable with an ankle injury.

Amarikwa had three assists and one head-turning goal in eight starts before suffering his injury after getting pushed down from behind by a defender. The nature of the mishap has allowed for a quick return as hamstring strains often linger for months.

“Because it wasn’t an explosive movement that caused it,” the 5-foot-8 Amarikwa said he is confident to go.

“A lot of my game is physicality and being able to challenge defenders and to apply high pressure and a death by numbers type of thing,” the target forward said. “If I can’t do that then I’m not coming in.”